Spector to speak on latest book

Author and Professor Ronald H. Spector will speak and sign copies of his latest book, "In the Ruins of Empire,"at the Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 31.

The book, drawing from recently available first-hand accounts by American, Chinese, Japanese and British witnesses and previously top secret U.S. intelligence records, delves into World War II post-war intrigues and violence. The book casts new and startling light on this pivotal time and sets the record straight about this contested and important period of history.

Spector is a professor of history and international relations at George Washington University. He was a distinguished professor of strategy at the National War College, Washington, D.C., and was a guest professor at Kyoto University, Tokyo, Japan.

Spector served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and has authored six books, including "Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan," a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club.